Happy Almost-Summer, FeLVie fans! I hope you are enjoying sunshine and flowers in full bloom wherever you are.
Things have been busy over the last month for our crew, so let’s get to the update.
The best news first: Blossom was adopted! She was only with us for a short time, but she’s an absolutely beautiful brown tabby, so it’s no surprise that someone took her home.
The boys in our double positive suite (FIV and FeLV) have seen a few changes. To our delight, Trifecta’s blood glucose levels have once again stabilized on insulin without daily monitoring. He’s acting more like himself and has been perkier and indulging in more play. Dewie’s insulin needs have increased once again; he’ll have another recheck in two weeks.
On a recent nice Sunday afternoon, I couldn’t find Dewie anywhere in his suite. He wasn’t in any of the cubby holes or cat houses or the cat tree; he wasn’t in the solarium. I even checked the cabinet under the sink, thinking he might have become trapped in there somehow. But no Dewie. I was just at the point of asking a staffer for help when I saw him crashed out on a sunny windowsill. He’s a little too big for that windowsill (his hind legs were hanging off), but he was obviously very comfy. Luke and Abacus have become much more particular about their food—hard to believe in Abacus’ case, but true. Both boys prefer chunky varieties over pate, but it seems that “stew” type foods are not sufficiently chunky for this picky duo.
Suite H is much too quiet since we lost our sweet Puff. Hoopla continues to spend most of her time in the solarium. Batty appears to be out and about more often, whether people are in the suite or not. Recently, I even saw a volunteer playing with Batty in the solarium; it turns out that Batty enjoys wand toys. And, of course, I’m still expected to feed her kibble when I enter her suite.
We have an arrangement where I put down one piece of kibble for her and get in one head pet while she’s eating it. This is repeated as long as I continue it. One of our staff reports that she’s been able to pet Batty for extended periods of time and that Batty will actually start purring and lean in for more. Could it be that Batty is more relaxed with Puff no longer in the suite? Right now, we don’t know.
Tabby’s Place wants you to know that it isn’t our fault; we didn’t do it. We are disclaiming all responsibility for the names of the two newest members of our FeLVie crew, who arrived with groan-inducing monikers.
Allow me to introduce Leonardo DiCatrio and Kitty Purry, two teenage siblings. Kitty Purry is almost all black, with just a few white hairs on her chest. Leonardo is black, but has white on all four paws, his muzzle, chest, and tummy, and a white tip to his tail. Both are still somewhat skittish with people, but Kitty Purry is utterly fearless concerning both food and toys. I saw her muscle in on Clifford when he was eating a plate of wet food, even though he’s twice her size; Clifford and I were too surprised to do much about it at first, though eventually I moved her away. (I will say he was very good about it—no hissing or growling or swatting.)
And we all know how Sweet Pea loves his toys. On a recent Saturday when I was in the suite, I threw a small gold ball for Sweet Pea, who galloped after it. He was batting the ball around when Kitty Purry darted over, grabbed the ball in her mouth right under Sweet Pea’s nose, and simply walked off with it. This was repeated multiple times over a half hour or so. Leonardo is very interested in toys, too, but he’s not as brave as his sister yet, so she usually gets to the toys first. And I have heard reports that the two teenagers work together to chase Sweet Pea and Clifford around the suite.
In other news in that suite, Pisa is still hiding much of the time…except for one person. It seems that Pisa has a young adult friend who has been infinitely patient and very persistent with her, so much so that this young woman can now pet and brush her! Their relationship evolved very slowly, over many weeks, but gradually the young woman discovered that Pisa would lean in for head pets and to be brushed. Short of her being adopted, this is the best news we could have had for Pisa, and it’s greatly encouraging. So far, this young woman is the only one who has earned Pisa’s trust, but we’re sure that circle will expand over time.
Regina has been doing nicely, and I saw her curled up with Sweet Pea one afternoon on a very large bed. She no longer has to have daily baths of her back end thanks to a dietary change. She’s now on a restricted, healthy GI diet, and it’s made a big difference, so baths are on an as-needed basis. Regina has been enjoying some time in the solarium when staff or volunteers open the human-sized door for her. We know she can use the cat door dividing the suite from the solarium, but typically she chooses not to do so.
Clifford (pictured in the header photo) had a dental done in May and was on a wet-food-only diet to allow for some healing time. He was crated overnight so the other felines could have dry food, which was then removed from the suite before he was let out in the morning. Clifford’s mouth has now healed enough that kibble is once again out during the day, and he no longer has to be crated at night.
Whew! That’s enough for one update! Our FeLVie crew keeps us on our toes, but we wouldn’t have it any other way. Thank you so much for being an incredible and positive force in their lives.
Your correspondent,
Stephanie